Cross River Assembly recovers equipment from former officials under Ayade’s administration, others

The 10th Cross River State Assembly has recovered some State-owned construction equipment presumed to have been stolen by unnamed government officials during the administration of former Governor Ben Ayade.

The House of Assembly had on Monday said they will issue arrest warrants to former Governor Ben Ayade’s commissioners and appointees who fail to appear before the House to account for ten billion Naira worth of heavy-duty equipment procured during the last administration.

A statement from the Press Secretary to the Speaker, Matthew Okache, say the recovery came following  “an investigation into the misappropriation of 34 State-owned heavy-duty construction equipment by certain government officials during the administration of former governor Ayade.”

Recall that on Thursday 22 February, 2024, the House of Assembly unanimously reaffirmed their commitment to the recovery of the construction equipment and vowed that the perpetrators of this fraudulent act would be brought to justice.

The statement further stated that, “Sequel to the Assembly’s investigative resolution, some of the construction equipment that were  recovered and taken into the State’s custody includes 11050 k Dozer, 1 payloader, 1Grader, 1850J Dozer, 1 Backo, and 2 Excavators.”

Acknowledging the arrival of the state-owned heavy-duty equipment in Calabar, the speaker,  Rt. Hon. Elvert Ayambem clarified that while 23 heavy-duty trucks and equipment remain on the site to be transported back to Calabar, 7 of the equipment have been successfully relocated to Calabar. He said that “the slow movement to Calabar was caused by a lack of high-powered transportation vessels”. He said the recovery will continue into next week.

Ayambem reaffirmed the House of Assembly’s steadfast dedication to recovering all of the 30 stolen pieces of equipment and “making sure that the people who constitute every democracy’s greatest asset, are receiving their dividends from the government.

“Cross River State Government will save more than 50 billion naira by recovering the heavy-duty equipment, which was originally used for rentals and the purchase of new machinery.”

The speaker also emphasized that to fulfill the people’s first mantra, the 10th Assembly will continue to back the Otu-led government to transform Cross River into a model State.

By: Archibong Emmanuel
(Snr. Reporter)